Dengue is up in the DR and the Caribbean in general. Dr. Amiro Pérez Mera, the former Minister of Public Health credited with ridding the country of polio, malaria and dengue in the early 80s, offers an easy solution to the problem. He says that popular Chinese medicine recommends putting soap in puddles of water so as to kill off the mosquitoes. He says a little bit of soap will kill the mosquitoes as the soap on their legs will not allow them to fly away. Dengue is up primarily due to the steady rains that have been falling in the DR and the Caribbean in September. There is no vaccine against dengue. The best protection is to use repellents. While most mosquitoes bite between dusk and dawn, Aedes mosquitoes are most active during the day, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. They usually breed in urban areas in man-made containers filled with relatively clean water. For more information on dengue, and other tropical diseases that may affect those living or traveling to the DR, see http://www.dr1.com/health.htm
